Bangalore: Unisys Corporation today announced a hardware-independent version of its ClearPath MCP operating software. The rollout marks the first time that Unisys has offered one of its flagship ClearPath operating environments independently of a ClearPath Forward large-system platform.

The new version of the premier MCP operating environment is built to provide a production-ready, entry-level instance of the full software stack running on any Intel x86 server under VMware ESXi or a client-chosen system conforming to a reference specification.

This unprecedented move enables Unisys ClearPath Forward Libra system clients to deploy their critical MCP application workloads using Intel x86-based infrastructure of their choice without the potential need to incur capital and maintenance costs for additional hardware.

In addition, MCP users can enrich their application environment by taking advantage of the performance, functionality and manageability that the popular VMware delivers.

“Virtualizing the MCP environment is a major advance that brings us closer to our ultimate goal of making ClearPath Forward a linchpin in our clients’ software-defined data centers,” said Tarek El-Sadany, Senior Vice President - Technology, and Chief Technology Officer, Unisys.

“We remain committed to giving our ClearPath Forward clients the means to build a modern, cost-efficient hybrid IT environment flexible enough to meet their evolving challenges while building on their long-term investment in the ClearPath Forward applications that run their businesses,” added El-Sadany.

Delivery of hardware-independent operating environments is the latest step in the ongoing evolution of the ClearPath Forward systems into fully software-based offerings that provide continually increasing value to clients.

Platform-independent ClearPath MCP is available immediately in the following two options for entry-level production:

• ClearPath MCP Bronze offers concurrent-user-based licensing and can host a general-purpose workload that includes production work as well as application development and testing activities.

• ClearPath MCP Silver includes capacity-based licensing determined by the maximum number of MCP central processing modules available for activation. Licenses for several workload types are available, including general-purpose, Unisys Agile Business Suite model-driven development environment, and choices for business continuity and disaster recovery.

Clients can take advantage of Unisys ClearPath Forward services to plan, implement and manage the extended Intel x86-based infrastructure and associated application environment. The suite includes consulting and advisory, operational, and application modernization and management services.

Unisys plans to deliver platform-independent versions of the OS 2200 operating environment at a later date.